A1 · The future
Going to: ir a + infinitive
The future people actually speak.
At a glance
- Remember
- ir conjugated, a in the middle, infinitive at the end — and the a is never missing.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The future — What is still to come — promised, planned or merely guessed at.
- Form
- ir + a + infinitivobuild
- Signal words
- mañana
- esta tarde
- el año que viene
- la semana próxima
- dentro de
- luego
- Trap
- Wrong:Voy hacer la compra.Right:Voy a hacer la compra.
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Spanish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker auxiliary verb negation question marker
| build | ir + a + infinitivo |
| I am going to speak | (yo) voy a hablar |
| you are going to speak (tú) | (tú) vas a hablar |
| he, she is going to / you (usted) are going to speak | (él, ella, usted) va a hablar |
| we are going to speak | (nosotros) vamos a hablar |
| you are going to speak (vosotros) | (vosotros) vais a hablar |
| they / you (ustedes) are going to speak | (ellos, ellas, ustedes) van a hablar |
| negated | No voy a decir nada. |
| with a pronoun | Voy a llamarte. / Te voy a llamar. |
| question | ¿Qué vas a hacer este fin de semana? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
ir is conjugated, the infinitive stays.
Vamos a comer fuera.We are eating out.
The a is always there, however faint it sounds.
Voy a hacer la compra.I am going to do the shopping.
The pronoun may go in front or on the infinitive.
Te lo voy a explicar. / Voy a explicártelo.I will explain it to you.
no goes before the conjugated ir.
No vamos a llegar a tiempo.We are not going to make it in time.
Example sentences
Este verano vamos a viajar a Galicia.This summer we are travelling to Galicia.
¿Vas a venir a la reunión?Are you coming to the meeting?
Va a llover, mira el cielo.It is going to rain, look at the sky.
No voy a comprarlo, es demasiado caro.I am not going to buy it, it is too expensive.
6 more example sentences
Voy a llamarte esta noche.I will ring you tonight.
¿Qué vais a hacer en vacaciones?What are you doing in the holidays?
Van a abrir un supermercado nuevo.They are going to open a new supermarket.
No va a caber todo en el coche.It is not all going to fit in the car.
Vamos a empezar por el principio.Let us start at the beginning.
Creo que va a nevar.I think it is going to snow.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The a disappears in writing, because in speech it runs into the next word. Voy hacer does not exist — the phrase has three parts, and without the a it has no hinge. English «going to do» has the «to» in exactly the same place; treat the a as that «to».
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
It is built from a conjugated ir, the preposition a and the infinitive: voy a, vas a, va a, vamos a, vais a, van a. That is all — the infinitive never changes. English «going to» is the same idea with the same feel.
It covers what English does with «I'm going to» and often with the present: intentions, arrangements, whatever is coming up. Voy a llamarte mañana is «I'll ring you tomorrow», and nobody hears anything ceremonious in it.
The a never drops, even though in speech it runs into the following vowel. That is exactly why it gets forgotten in writing: voy a hacer sounds like one word.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 17 · poder and querer: can, wantBack to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: ir · ser · hacer · llegar · venir · explicar · comprar · mirar